Lamp socket



June 30, 93 v G. A. JOHNSON 2,045,915

v LAMP SOCKET v Filed Dec. 5, 19:51 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 G. A. JOHNSON LAMP SOCKET June 30, 1936.

Filed Dec. 5, 1951 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 V Zzvenfor. SMM- Q. 598w.

Patented June 30, 1936 UNHTED sTATEs PATENT orrlcs LAMP SOCKET I Gustaf A. Johnson, New Bedford, Mass. Application December 5, 1931, Serial No. 579,130

7 3 Claims.

This invention relates to electric lamp sockets and is herein illustrated as applied to that type of socket commonly known as a candle socket.

One of the important objects of this invention is the production of a socket member of a standardized form which, when an order is received for a specified length of candle socket, isadapted to be'mounted upon a support suitable for the jacket specified in the order.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a candle socket support, either extensible or otherwise, which is adapted to be permanently secured to the socket by an operation which is simple, efficient and consumes a minimum of time.

5 Another important object of the invention is the provision of an extensible support for the standardized form of lamp socket which is of simple and efiicient construction and which is adapted for expeditious adjustment and for effective lock- 20 ing in various positions of extension.

Other objects of the invention will be more specifically described and pointed out hereinafter.

I Another important feature of the invention relates to the provision in an extensible support 1 of means whereby the support may be easily and rapidly adjusted to suit the length of jacket in which the socket is to be mounted and for looking the support in adjusted position. In its preferred form, the extensible member comprises two 30 members in telescopic relation provided with interlocking means for fastening them together in various adjusted positions'of extension; The interlocking means may beof any suitable form arranged in a graduated scale to conform to the scale of various lengths of jackets in use in the industry.

In the accompanying drawings illustrating one embodiment of my invention, Figure 1 is a side elevation on 'a reduced scale of a complete candle 40 socket fixture'with a lamp in position; Fig. 2 is a vertical, central, sectional view of the fixture with the candle jacket and lamp removed; Fig. 3 is a side elevation of the same looking from right to left in Fig. 2; Fig. 4 is a central, vertical, sectional 45 view of thestandardized socket proper comprising a screw shell with insulation, contacts and sup? port base on line 4-4! in Fig. 2; Fig. 5 is a side elevation of a socket member of standard form having a short nonextensible support affixed thereto; Fig. 6 is a bottom plan view of the screw shell; Fig. '7 is a top plan View looking downwardly in Fig. 4 of the insulating disk; Fig. 8 is a bottom plan view of the same; Fig. 9 is a plan view of the member for insulating the central contact; 55 Fig. 10 is a view in perspective of the shell contact; Fig. 11 is a similar view. of the central lamp contact; Fig.- 12is a cross sectional view on line l2 -l 2 in Fig. 3; Fig. 13 is a view in perspective of a support base; Fig. 14 is a side elevation of. an extensible support provided with interlocking 5 means for locking the telescopic members inadjusted relation; Fig. 15 is another side elevation of the same looking from right to left in Fig. 14; Fig. 16 is a cross sectional view on line Ifil6 in Fig. 15; Fig. 17 is a side elevation of a modified 10. form of extensible support; Fig. 18 is another side elevation of the same lookingv from right to left in Fig. -17 Fig. 19 is a cross sectional view on line l'9-l 9 in Fig. 18; Fig. 20 is a side elevation of the lockin screw before it is headed which isused in 15 the modified form of Figs. 1,7- and 18; and Fig. 21 is a similar view of the locking screw after the head has been formed and Fig. 22 is a cross sec- .tional view showing the telescopic members for an extensible support of slightly modified form provided interlocking means. I

7 Referring to the drawings and more particularly to Figure 4, which shows a socket proper of standardized form adapted to be used with supports of various kinds and lengths, l5 designates .1 a lamp receiving screw shell, l6 an insulating disk mounted in the base portion of the shell, I! a support base, 18 an insulating plate, I 9 a fixed contact and 20 a screw for lockingallthese parts together at the base of said shell.

The screw shell is of the usual well-known form except that its base is provided with a central rectangular opening-2l (Fig. 6). The insulating disk It is somewhat smaller in diameter than the inside diameter of the shell so that it may be easily mounted therein but its thickness is relatively great to give it the necessary strength and rigidity. The bottom face 22 (Fig. 8) of the disk has a shallow rectangular recess 23 which registers with the opening 2| in the shell and to insure this registration in the assembling process, the base of the shell is provided with a rectangular inwardly projecting portion 124 which fits in a shallow recess v25 adjacent the recess 23in the bottom face of the disk.

The support base I! is made of fiat ribbon material bent into a U-shape and is mounted in reversed position with its head in the recess 23 in the bottom face of the disk with its two forks or legs projecting downwardly from the base of the shell (Fig. 13). The disk and thesupport base are provided with holes 26 and 2'! respectively for receiving loosely the screw 20, the end of which is threaded into the fixed contact l9. Each'fork or leg of the support base has its. re-

duced end 29 turnedoutwardly at right angles for a purpose to be hereinafter explained. Between the head of the base support and the fixed contact is mounted the insulating plate [8 which extends between the legs of the support base and across the rectangular opening 2| in engagement with the outer face of the base of the shell and is provided with a hole 30 to receive loosely the screw 20. When this screw is tightened, the disk, base-support, insulating plate and fixed contact are all drawn together tightly and the base of the shell is locked between the disk and plate which also holds the support base in locked position.

The screw 20 and contact l9 together with a spring contact 32 make up the central lamp con.

tact. The spring contact is of fiat stock provided with a hole in one end to permit it to be loosely mounted on the screw 20 and held by the head thereof in a rectangular recess 34 in the top face of the insulating disk, the other end being bent over to serve as a resilient contact. The sides of the recess in which it is held by the head of the screw prevent lateral movement. The fixed contact of ribbon stock (Fig. 11) has a threaded hole 36 to receive the end of the screw 20 and has one end turned downwardly to hold threaded therein a. binding screw 31 to which may be attached a current carrying wire.

Seated in the depression 23 and riveted to the outer face of the shell base is a shell contact 40 made of ribbon stock (Fig. 10) in a rightangled form carrying threaded in that arm which projects from the shell base a binding screw 3| which cooperates with the bent over corners 42 of the contact for holding the end of a current carrying wire or conductor. A circular recess 43 in the bottom face of the insulating disk receives the head of the rivet which fastens the contact to the shell base. i V

For preventing relative rotary movement of the parts when a lamp is screwed into or out of the screw shell, the various parts may be interlocked by means of projections anddepressions. For example, the base of the shell may have an inwardly projecting boss 45 which enters a circular recess 46 in the bottom face of the disk and the fixed contact IS a similar boss 41 cooperating with a circular recess 48 in the insulating plate. These interlocking devices, however, may be of any suitable form and variously located. The socket member as thus made up constitutes a standard part of a candle socket which may be mounted upon either an extensible support or a non-extensible support of a length corresponding to the length of jacket of the candle socket in which it is to be incorporated.

In Figs. 2 and 3, the standard socket member is shown mounted on an extensiblesupport which comprises a lower forked member 50 having a tubular lower end 5| provided with an'interior thread permitting it to be screwed upon the threaded part of a tubular fixture support 52 carrying insulated conductors 54 and 55, which conductors are adapted to be carried up through the extensible support and connected to the contacts l9 and Mlrespectively. The two forks or legs of the member 50 are U-shaped in cross section (Fig. 12) and slidably mounted therein are two skeleton extensible shanks 51 also U-shaped in cross section which are adapted to slide vertically in the legs of the forked member for increasing or decreasing its length. In order to hold the extensible shanks 51 in adjustable position a screw 58 and a key 59 are mounted in the upper ends of the shanks of the member 50 transversely of that member. The screw 58 is mounted loosely in the hole in one of the shanks or legs and its end is threaded through the other so that the turning of the screw tends to draw the two legs together or to permit them to operate. The key 59 is in the form of a flat bar having. its end portions 60 restricted to enter slots in the two legs of the member 50 and to form shoulders 6| which are adapted to bear against the inner surfaces of the shanks 51. To facilitate the adjustment of the shanks 51 in relation to the legs of the member 50, each of said shanks may be provided with a series of interior grooves or notches 62 into which the shoulders on the key are adapted to fit. These notches are spaced apart a distance corresponding to the various differences in length of jackets to be used in candle socketsso that the extensible support may be easily adjusted to suit a particular length of jacket and when so adjusted may be locked in that position by turning up the screw 58 to force the shanks 51 into tight engagement with the shoulders on the key. These shoulders being located in grooves or notches are thereby locked against displacement. By releasing the screw 58 which releases'the shoulders on the key from the grooves the length of the extensible member may be varied by moving the shanks 51 into a new position. Preferably, the legs or shanks are of skeleton form each having a longitudinal recess '63 and each leg of the forked member 58 having a longitudinal cut-out portion 64.

For fastening the extensible support permanently to the socket member the upper end of each shank 51 is provided with an open recess 65 adapted to receive a finger 29 of the base support and the flanges of the shank 51 On its upper end are then swaged around the side edges of the legs of the base support.

The non-extensible support 10 such as is shown in Fig. 5 is of somewhat similar construction to the forked member 50 being also a. forked memthe member 10 permanently to the socket member. Since the various sizes of candle jackets are standard, the manufacturers by having a supply of non-extensible supports of various standard lengths may, by attaching supports of the proper length, complete candle sockets within a very short time for delivery to fill an order for sockets of specified length.

In Fig. l is shown an electric light fixture in imitation of a candle illustrating the use to whichcandle sockets are put, in which the candle socket is mounted upon the fixture support 52 as shown in Fig. 2, a cup-shaped member 15 being mounted on the threaded portion of the supporting fixture 52. The jacket .11 simulating a candle is then mounted over the socket and is held against lateral movement by the insulating cylinder [8. When the electric lamp I9 is screwed into the shell the fixture then presents the appearance shown in Fig. 1. I a a In Figures 14 to 22 are shown several modified forms of extensible supports in further illustration of my invention. The support shown in Figs. 14 to 16 inclusive embraces a lower forked member with a tubular end 8|, the forks being U-shaped in cross-section and a pair of skeleton shanks 82 arranged in telescopic relation to said member. For locking the parts together in adjusted telescopic position, I employ a screw 83 and key 84 similar in construction to those shown, the ends of the key fitting slots 85 in the member 80. In this form, however, the interior grooves or notches 62 of the first form are omitted and the parts are locked together by interlocking means comprising an inwardly pressed boss 81 on one of the forks of the member 80 located near its upper end, which boss is adapted to project into any one of a longtudinal series of depressions 88 formed in the outer face of one of the legs or shanks 82, these depressions being, spaced apart to correspond to the variation in length in the candle jackets in commercial use. The legs or shanks 82 in this form and in all the other forms shown in the drawings, are attached to the support base of the standardized form of socket in the same manner as shown in Figs. 2 and 3. In adjusting this form of support to vary its length, the screw 83 is loosened to permit the forked member 88 to be adjusted longitudinally on the legs or shanks with the boss 81 projecting into the proper depression 88 and the screw 83 is then tightened, the key 84 serving as a separator to prevent inward movement of the legs or shanks 82 in this operation. When the screw is tightened the interlocking means prevent relative telescopic movement between the parts.

In Figs. 17 to 19 inclusive is shown another form of extensible support in which the forked member with tubular end 94 is unchanged but the two legs or shanks 96 are secured together at their lower ends by a cross piece 91 preferably integral and a. different form of locking screw 98 is provided which eliminates the necessity for a key. This screw is first formed as shown in Fig. 20 having an enlarged middle portion 98,

the end shoulders of which are adapted to engage the inner faces of the twolegs 96 with a restricted threaded end 99 adapted to be threaded into a hole in the upper end of one of the forks of the member 95, the other end I00 of the screw being of restricted diameter and mounted loosely in a hole in the upper end of the other legof the member 95. The screw in this condition is mounted in position in the extensible support and the end I80 is then formed into the head lfll of the screw as shown in Fig. 21 thereby locking the screw in the extensible support. This form of support is adjusted by loosening the screw and sliding the socket member into proper position on the legs or shanks 96 and then tightening the screw which draws the two'outer shanks 95into tight engagement with the inner shanks 96, the shoulders on the middle portion of the screw engaging the inner faces of the legs to prevent inward movement thereof. Interlocking bosses and depressions may be provided on this form if desired but as a general rule, this form of screw will be found to lock the parts firmly in telescopic relation.

In Fig. 22, there is shown a cross-section of an extensible member in which the side flanges of the two telescopic members I05 and H16 are turned at an oblique angle instead of a right angle, the outer member being providedin one flange with an inwardly pressed boss lfl'l adapted to engage in a depression I08 of a series of such depressions in the inner member. This form may be provided with any one of the interlocking and spacing means shown in Figures 14 to 21.

To facilitate the adjustment of the extensible support to jackets of different standard lengths, a series of graduations H0 may be marked on one of the shanks 96 as shown in Fig. 18 to be read from the upper end of the adjacent shank of the forked member 95, which graduations may be numbered downwardly as shown.

In the drawings, the candle socket is shown as being of the keyless type, that is, operated at a distance from the socket by a push button or other circuit closing device. My invention may, however, be applied to key or pull chain sockets by the addition of a switch mechanism to the socket mechanism, which application would be obvious to anyone skilled in the art and would involve no material changes in the construction of my socket as exemplified herein.

It will be observed that the socket of my invention is of very simple construction and involves a minimum of parts and that it is easily assembled thereby enabling the socket to be manufactured at a very low cost.

It is to be understood that my invention is not to be limited to the exact construction herein shown and described since it may be embodied in other forms of construction Within the scope of the following claims.

What I claim is:

1. An electric socket adapted for use as a candle socket comprising a screw shell, an insulating disk mounted in the base of said shell, a support base fastened to said disk and an extensible support fastened to said support base, said extensible support comprising a pair of shanks in parallel relation, said shanks being provided each with a series of interior grooves, a forked member slidably mounted on said shanks and a key carried by said forked member having shoulder portions adapted to lock in said grooves on said shanks for holding said forked member locked in adjusted position thereon.

2. In an electric candle socket, the combination with a lamp receiving socket provided with a support base having short forks, of an extensible support permanently fastened to the forks of said support base and comprising two forked members arranged in telescopic relation and provided with interlocking means including depressions in the inner faces of the forks of the inner of said members and a key plate carried by the outer of said members and having shoulders abutting said depressions in the inner faces of the forks of said inner member and a screw threaded in the outer of said members for drawing said two members into tight engagement each with the other.

3. An electric socket adapted for use as a candle socket comprising a screw shell, an insulating disk mounted in the base of said shell, a support base fastened to said disk and an extensible support fastened to said support base, said extensible support comprising a pair of shanks in parallel relation, said shanks being provided each with a series of interior grooves, a forked member slidably mounted on said shanks, a key carried by said forked member having shoulder portions adapted to lock in said grooves on said shanks for holding said shanks in fixed separated position and a screw mounted in said forked member and threaded in one side thereof for drawing the two forks of said forked member into tight engagement with said shanks to prevent telescopic movement therebetween.

GUSTAF A. JOHNSON. 

